Peripheral devices (such as keyboards, joysticks, mice, etc.) for computers have traditionally been connected to host computing devices via communication cables. Data transfer between such "tethered" peripheral devices and their host computers is thus via the connecting cables. Recently, however, wireless peripheral devices have begun emerging. These new wireless peripheral devices communicate with their host computers via, e.g., high frequency (HF), radio frequency (RF), and infrared (IR) communication signals.
Before a wireless peripheral device can be used in conjunction with a particular processor-based host computer, a communication channel must be established between the peripheral and the host. Establishment of such a communication channel requires that the host detect the presence of the peripheral, and then "bind" the peripheral. The few wireless peripheral devices currently available require a cumbersome manual binding technique between the peripheral and the host, whereby a user, via a tethered peripheral device (such as a keyboard), manually notifies the host of the presence of the wireless peripheral and initiates the binding process.